Hungarian short film ‘Sing’ (Mindenki) by Kristóf Deák has won an Academy Award in the category of Live Action Shorts, it was announced in Los Angeles on Sunday night. The 25-minute short film has become the first film directed by a Hungarian to secure a win in the category. Moreover, it is the second Hungarian film that earned the Academy Award in a year.

Director Kristóf Deák and producer Anna Udvardy (photo: AFP/MTI)

The story of the film takes place in Budapest in 1991. According to the director, it is inspired by a true story, and “follows an award-winning school choir, their charming teacher and the new girl in class whose arrival starts a series of events that might expose the dark truth behind their fame.” The film stars two child-actors, Dorka Gáspárfalvi and Dorottya Hais, while the teacher is played by Zsófia Szamosi. Sing is only the second Hungarian live-action short film to receive an Oscar nomination; the first was 1963’s Concert, directed by István Szabó, who would go on to direct Mephisto, Hungary’s first Foreign Language Film Oscar winner.

The Hungarian film made the Oscar nomination shortlist after – along with the four other films nominated – beat out 70 other short films from all over the world. However, Sing has already had a great degree of international success before its nomination: the film won the Grand Prix prize at the Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo, the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Kids category, and the Adult Jury Prize in the Live-action Short Film category at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Sing’s success is an amazing recognition for the Hungarian film industry, since it has followed in the footsteps of László Nemes’ Son of Saul, which won the Oscar for best foreign language film last year.

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

“Hajós” he was not. Or at least not that we know of. But “úszós” he definitely was! And a real champion at that! Alfréd Hajós, original name Arnold Guttmann, (born February 1, 1878, Budapest, Hungary – died November 12, 1955), swimmer who won three Olympic medals and was the first Olympic swimming champion. According to some accounts, Hajós began swimming at age 13 […]

Since Johann Herder, Hungarians have been frightened of ‘national death’. In his diary, the 18th century German philosopher predicted that the Hungarian language, and with it the Hungarian nation, would disappear and become assimilated by surrounding Slavic peoples; this prophecy caused considerable uproar in Hungary, and has shaped the country’s self-image, and beliefs about its regional role, ever since. Fortunately, […]

Hungary Today recently had the opportunity to interview Producer Dorottya Mathe, who, nearly a decade ago, decided to give her Hungarian career up and follow her dreams to become a movie producer. As part of her long-time plan, she has moved to New York City and started everything from scratch at New York Film Academy. By 2018, Miss Mathe has […]

In light of recent controversies and conflicts that have arisen surrounding Hungarian minority communities in countries such as Romania and Ukraine, we would like to present our readers with an essay that explores these disputes in a broader European and historical context. This reflection comes courtesy of the literary journal The Hungarian Review. In the article below, German journalist and university […]